The Storm Inside
by BluezebraAFHS
Summary: During a thunderstorm, Ed stands out in the rain, and remembers.


**Okay, so I was reading a fanfic about Ed and Nina, and this idea just popped into my head. I knew it wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it, so I did. Enjoy.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist**

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Rain fell steadily from the sky, pounding on the sidewalk in a staggered rhythm. The clouds blocked out the light, making the world gray and dark and colorless. Yet the rain still fell, never ending in its song. Some found it depressing, desperately waiting for the rain to stop, and for the sun to come out. For them, it was the best time to think, to dwell on past mistakes. Yet, others found it beautiful. Like a soft lullaby, singing you to sleep. They found it peaceful.

Nothing can last forever though, not even peace. Something will always come, and break the silence. Thunder booms, and the rhythm is broken. Lightning flashes across the sky, illuminating the young boy standing alone on the street, allowing the rain to soak him. His long blond hair stuck to the sides of his face, as it had fallen out from the perfect braid it was in long ago. His golden eyes, usually so full of life and determination, held nothing but sadness, and grief. He'd never liked the rain. It was always during that time when he remembered, remembered all the mistakes, and failures.

They say you learn from your mistakes, and he did. But he didn't want to learn, he wanted to forget. He wanted so desperately to just forget the past, and move on. It wasn't that easy though. Memories are the one thing that will always be with you. They may fade, but they'll be there. Kind of like scars. That's what his memories were, scars of past wounds. No longer open, but marks on the skin, reminding you of the pain. Reminding you of the past.

And so, he remembered. He remembered the days when he was happy. So carefree, running around with his little brother with no worries. Laughing and playing, being the little kids they were. Remembered comforting his brother when the storms scared him out of his sleep, remembered going to their mother for comfort.

He remembered the day the peace was broken. The day he and his brother came home, only to find their mother collapsed on the kitchen floor. The day she left the world. Their beautiful mother, soft and sweet, left the land of the living. Their world had been shattered, the one person they thought would never leave them, so cruelly ripped away. She never got to watch her two little boys grow up, leaving them wondering, would she be proud of them? Or ashamed, at what they did.

He remembered his foolishness, believing he could actually bring someone back to life. Forcing his little brother into something he didn't want to do.

He remembered the consequences of that day. His brother, his little brother, no longer had a body. He was just an empty suit of armor. He couldn't eat or sleep or feel, things they had always taken for granted. And it was _his _fault, _his _mistake. He was the one who did that to his only family, someone he was supposed to protect.

He remembered Nina. The little girl they couldn't save. Harshly ripped out of her peace, her life so rudely snatched away. And there was nothing he could do. He'd realized it too late. She was so young, too young. She had so much time to live, she could have led a wonderful life. But that chance was shattered, by her own father. The one she looked up to, and loved so much. How could someone do such a thing? To take the life, and innocence of a child like that? It left him disgusted, in both himself, and her father.

He remembered Hughes. Such a loving man with a daughter complex. He had helped them in so many ways, and that had been his demise. And again, it was _his _fault. _He _had pulled him into their situation, and it was his fault he was dead. He never got to watch his little girl grow up, and she couldn't grow up with a dad. And then there was his wife, so devastated, but holding herself together for her child, _their _child. Crying out for the wonderful man, a husband, father, and friend.

He had hurt so many people, and no matter how many times people told him it wasn't his fault, he couldn't seem to think otherwise. Because it _was _his fault, even if indirectly. No one knew how much he hated himself, how much he wanted to change. He couldn't though, not after everything he'd been through. Not after all the pain he'd caused. He had to make amends, right his wrongs.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hold in the tears. They slid down his cheeks, hidden by the rain. Oh, how he loved the rain. It hid your pain from the world, no one could tell how hard you were crying.

Eventually, the sun peeked out from the clouds, and the rain stopped. The thunder stopped booming, the lightning stopped flashing, the rain stopped falling. He still stood though, staring up at the sky, trying to get himself together.

Because even though the storm had stopped on the outside, it was still going strong. It wasn't something that would stop anytime soon. It would stay, nagging at him, reminding him of his pain. No, he would probably never be able to get rid of it.

No matter how hard he tried, it would still be there, raging on.

The storm inside.

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**I have absolutely no idea where this came from. It just popped into my head, and I'm all like 'Hey, why don't I make a one-shot about this. **

**As you can see, I like angst. Almost all my stories will have some angst in them, even if it's just a little bit. I don't know why I like it so much, I just do. **

**Please review, tell me your thoughts, I'd really like to know. Did you love it, hate it? I'd like to know.**


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